weekend Archives » Alina Avery

Looking Back: My Bachelorette Weekend

November 5, 2015 by Alina Avery 2 Comments

My bachelorette weekend was just about a year ago in New York City. I was living there at the time, and it was fun and central to all of my friends, so I kicked Matt out for the weekend, we all piled into my friend Vincenza’s East Village apartment, and settled in for #AVERYcrazyweekend.

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Sam, Me, and Daisy at my Bachelorette in 2014

I wasn’t blogging at the time, so I figured a year later is a good time to recap the weekend, right?

My friends began to trickle into town Friday morning. I took the day off work and we ate brunch, shopped around, caught up, giggled, you know, girl stuff. We got $9 juices and ate crepes. It was that kind of day.

We eventually made our way down to the Bite Beauty Lip Lab in Soho. We each took a turn pairing off with a lip color specialist and blending our own shade of lipstick. How it works: you describe what you are looking for, and the technician makes an attempt to create it. You try it on, decide if it’s what you’re looking for or if you want to adjust it, and keep the cycle going until you’re happy with your shade. Then you pick a finish and a scent and your lipstick is mixed and molded as you wait. My shade, of course, was bright red with a mint and vanilla scent in a creme finish. I still wear it all the time. My girlfriends picked shades ranging from the perfect nude, to bright fuschia, to unexpected coral, to deep purple. It’s amazing how we’re all so similar but so different!

https://instagram.com/daisyemmalee/

Instead of waiting for our lipsticks to set in the tiny lip lap, we headed down the street to the Birchbox Soho store to shop a bit. I was a Birchbox employee at the time and very excited to show off the flagship store to my friends! Afterwards, we scooped up our lipsticks and headed to get ready for dinner.

Friday dinner was at The Cottage, a Chinese restaurant in Union Square that serves you bottomless wine with your entree. Chinese food and bottomless wine is like, the ultimate bachelorette dinner, right? And we ended the night out at bars taking pickleback shots and drinking vodka sodas and dancing and singing and doing what girls do.

The next morning we were up and ready for brunch at Palma. This restaurant was amazing. So adorable with a beautiful patio garden. And the food was delicious as well. As a surprise, my friends coordinated to have my mom and my friend Katie’s mom join us. They drove into the city from New Jersey and I was so surprised and excited for them to be there! There were gifts, including a gorgeous necklace from my mom and a frame my girlfriends made. They each put on the lipstick we’d made the night before, kissed the mat of the frame to make a lip print, and signed their names. It was such a unique and thoughtful gift!

Of course, my bachelorette weekend also happened to coincide with the semi-annual Sephora sale. So we popped in for 20% off false eyelashes, which we perilously applied before heading out for the evenings events.

https://instagram.com/letsmakeitraina/

The main event for the weekend was a two-hour figure drawing class. Sounds lame right? Except for the nude male model. It’s like an elevated form of stripper. No one can claim there were no naked men at my bachelorette! The Artful Bachelorette hosted us in their studio space on 14th street, where a topless waiter kept our champagne glasses full, an art instructor taught us the basics for line drawing, and the lovely Kurt bared it all. The drawings came out awesome and the whole event was so fun. Apparently some of my friends are expert artists, who knew?!

We piled into an Italian restaurant after the drawing class, the name of which escapes me now, but apparently they had great drinks.

https://instagram.com/llaviers

We ended the evening at yet another bar. For my 21st birthday wayyyy back in 2010, my friends created a poster for me to wear with 21 things to do during the evening. Get 21 boys numbers, 21 kisses on the cheek, 21 happy birthday songs, take a tequila shot, etc. They created a similar poster for my bachelorette so we spent the night checking things off as we went.

My 21st Birthday

Almost 5 years later at my bachelorette!

Wrapped up the weekend the next morning with the largest Seamless bagel order ever and a stroll along Fifth Avenue. We were all exhausted and worn out from the weekend’s festivities but it was so incredible and even though it was a year ago, it was so fun and special that I still remember it like it was yesterday.

P.S. Thank you, Instagram, facebook, and my friend’s incessant use of hashtags for the photos in this post. #AVERYcrazyweekend #basicbachelorette

Beach Weekend Essentials

September 10, 2015 by Alina Avery 1 Comment

I spent the long Labor Day weekend saying so long to summer in Cape Cod. We had a super fun girls weekend (#girlstrip!) drinking Bud Light Limes and frozen mudslides, eating lobster, and enjoying the last bit of summer. Spending a lot of time out in the sun and consuming a heavier than usual amount of alcohol can be really taxing on your body, so here are the steps I took to make sure I made it out of the weekend in one non sunburnt piece.

Before

Since, as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and we were planning on going out at least two out of the three nights, I did a deep conditioning hair treatment before I left. Sun isn’t just damaging for your skin, it can also really dry out your hair. Especially in combination with salt water. Especially if you’ve dyed the crap out of it like I have. Lately I’ve been using the Redken All Soft Heavy Cream. I used the All Soft line years and years ago but recently just picked this up again and it gets the job done. It’s also relatively affordable, which is great because I have lots of thick, dry, damaged hair and go through conditioners like water. (Please excuse the security tag, at least you know I haven’t stolen it!)

Along the same lines, prep your skin by exfoliating and moisturizing. I’ll use Lush’s Ocean Salt scrub before shaving and then follow up with generous layer of moisturizer. I like the St Tropez Gradual Tan Firming Lotion since it’s an easy way to get a little bit of a tint and a lift for your skin before baring it all (or most of it)! It’s also really hydrating and softening, so it’s great for preparing for a few days in the sun.

Just a note though: self tanners DO NOT protect you from the sun! Not at all! You may look more tan, but you’ll still burn in the sun.

During

Obviously, wear sunscreen: something for your body, your face, and your hair. For body, Matt and I have both been using the La Roche Posay Melt-In Milk since it’s easy to apply. We usually aim for an SPF around 50. I used to think that aerosol spray sunscreens were the bomb since they’re so easy, but they waste so much and always get in your eyes and mouth, and it’s also a lot harder to make sure you haven’t missed any spots. So now I tend to grab traditional lotion formulas. For face, the Clarins UV Plus Day Screen High Protection Tint formula (I wear medium) is a great alternative to foundation. It gives a slight tint with a matte finish that protects from the sun and evens skintone. If you want to go tint free, I like the Supergoop City Sunscreen Serum because it’s light and absorbs quickly. I finish up with a spritz of Supergoop Defense Refresh Setting Mist which is incredibly refreshing and light and leaves a matte finish. It’s not pictured here since I couldn’t find it for the photo… guess that’s an indication of a successful girls weekend? I don’t think I’d manage to get through a whole bottle of this for just my face, so I also mist it on my chest and shoulders too when I feel like I need to top up. I also used it in my hair for this trip!

In between beach excursions, try to add the moisture lost to sun and sea back into your skin. I like the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream for whenever I’m spending more time outdoors than usual. It really keeps skin hydrated and helps with any irritation.

After

My post sun recovery is actually a lot similar to my post indulgence one. I opted for a cleansing conditioner for my hair since it was already so stripped from the sun but felt a bit grimy from the sand. I LOVE the Macadamia Oil Flawless Cleansing Conditioner. It smells amazing and leaves my hair so soft and light! I can do another post on cleansing conditioner d0s and don’ts. This is my favorite one by far.

You’ll also want to prolong your glow (whether it’s from the sun or from a bottle) with a lot of moisture. I use a body oil right out of the shower, like the Caudalie Divine Oil which smells INCREDIBLE, and then a heavier cream, like Kiehl’s Creme de Corps, before bed. I like the lighter oil for when I’m headed out so I don’t feel like I’m slimy or slick, but the heavier body cream when it can soak in overnight.

Finally, I admit, most nights I just settled for a makeup removing wipe in lieu of properly washing my face. Terrible, I know. I really wanted a deep clean, so I went for my trusty Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleaners to feel like myself again. This gently exfoliates since the sugar crystals dissolve over time and produces a lovely thick foam. It also smells (okay, and tastes) like sugared lemons. Such a gorgeous scrub.

It sounds like a lot of work but it’s worth it to take care of yourself! What’s your beach weekend routine?